Current view: Text account
Site description (2005 baseline):
Site location and context
The proposed Kyabobo National Park is adjacent to the larger Fazao-Malfakassa N.P. in Togo. It is bordered to the east by the Koue river (which flows northwards, forming the international boundary) and to the west the proposed boundaries come close to Koue village in the north and Odome in the south-west. The reserve is set in a range of steep hills in the forest/savanna transition zone, where forest (mainly semi-evergreen), transition woodland and broad-leaved woodland intermingle extensively. Several hills reach over 800 m and the vegetation on hilltops is locally reduced to open, pebbly wooded grassland. A striking feature of the whole area is the current expansion of forest over woodland, which is happening at a very fast rate.
The ornithology of Kyabobo had remained completely undocumented; a few species listed by Moyer (1996) are from an area to the south of the proposed park. Being in the forest/savanna transition zone, with forest presently expanding, the avifauna of Kyabobo is varied, with an important Guineo-Congolian biome component.
The avifauna has an important forest component next to a rather impoverished savanna component: the most important biome represented is Guineo-Congolian, with 67 species, a very high figure for the forest/savanna transition zone. Practically all observations of forest birds represent "range extensions" to the north (e.g. Dryotriorchis spectabilis, Accipiter erythropus, Spizaetus africanus, Bubo poensis, Eurystomus gularis, Indicator maculatus, Phyllastrephus albigularis, Alethe diademata, Apalis sharpii, Macrosphenus concolor, both Fraseria spp., Megabyas flammulatus, both Dyaphorophyia spp., Phyllanthus atripennis, Illadopsis fulvescens, I. puveli, all four Nigrita spp.).
When discovered in July 2004 the owlet Glaucidium capense was new for Ghana. The "Data Deficient" bulbul Phyllastrephus baumanni is considered as common. The discovery of the bush shrike Malaconotus lagdeni is particularly important, since this is the first observation in Ghana of a rare forest bird collected once (near Kumasi) in the 19th century. The localized pipit Anthus similis belongs to an isolated population in eastern Ghana and is known to breed on hilltops.
Non-bird biodiversity: The galago Galagoides thomasi was discovered (tape-recorded) in June 2005 by S. Bearder and colleagues and is completely new for Ghana. There have been occasional records of Lycaon pictus (EN), Tragelaphus eurycerus (LR/nt), Cephalophus silvicultor (LR/nt); C. maxwellii (LR/nt) and C. rufilatus (LR/cd) also occur
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The main threat for Kyabobo habitats comes from the continuing presence of small farms in the valleys and on some flat ridges, leading to localized deforestation. There are plans for moving farmers out, although this may be difficult to implement. The forest is expanding despite the frequency of bush fires; this natural phenomenon may encourage the spread of some forest species.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Kyabobo National Park (Ghana). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kyabobo-national-park-iba-ghana on 22/11/2024.
